Saturday, February 4, 2012

The top 10 reasons I love Wyoming geology

A spontaneous meme is spreading through the geoblogosphere. The theme is: why we love our particular specialty in geo-science. Erik Klemetti posted about volcanoes, Siim Sepp about sand, Callan Bentley about structural geology, and Silver Fox about detachment faults and core complexes. I’m an amateur geologist without a specialty, so instead I will explain why I love the geology of my home state, Wyoming.

1. It’s fun to be in the field in Wyoming -- lots of public land, not many people, the folks I do meet are friendly and even thrilled to find someone to chat with for awhile.

3. Wyoming’s Laramide uplifts, superpositioned drainages and relic periglacial features bring back many fond memories of geotripping when I was a grad student ... in botany :) The extra time it took to finish my degree was a good investment. Geology is fun!

4. All of my dogs have loved Wyoming geology, especially the field trip part. To right, Ellie studying phonolite porphyry at Devils Tower.